


Courtship

by Monstrosibee



Series: Championing A Cause [2]
Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: First Meetings, sometimes the prime u decide to pledge fealty is just an excited child :/
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-11-15 19:48:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18079823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Monstrosibee/pseuds/Monstrosibee
Summary: Vigilem, the youngest of the metrotitans, attends an appointment. Liege Maximo makes something of an impression on him.





	Courtship

He stood, a monolith over the empty plains, great hands still at his sides, and watched the tiny Prime approach.

Vigilem, greatest warrior of the towering city people, lone wanderer of the Forgotten Plains, last of the metrotitans born to the planet, was meeting a candidate prime for the first time in his comparatively short life, and he was not impressed. Though he had spoken many times with his elders about this, with thoughtful Metroplex and excitable Caminus and fierce Chela, the single figure striding confidently past the craggy outcropping in the distance did not resemble the stories they had told him of entourages and gifts and great parties. Vigilem was not a vain bot; far from it, as he thought vanity to be a dangerous trait for one living in the deserted Forgotten Plains.

That didn't quite touch the fact that this was the first prime to approach him.

It was tradition, of course, for a prime to court multiple titans before requesting the partnership of one. And if not court, they would at least visit and speak with multiple members of the thirteen metrotitans. But despite this, none of the extant primes had ever deigned to visit him, see if he fit their particular characteristics for a partner. It was a serious commitment; though not all of them went the full length to tie their sparks, even accepting the fealty of a single metrotitan meant that the prime had to be willing to be completely truthful with their new partner, as lying to a metrotitan was, in their eyes, that greatest crime they could commit.

At Vigilem's feet, the tiny prime came to a stop, green plating catching the glint of the sun's rays overhead. He wore a cloak, which whipped past his ankles and snapped against his back with the clink of chainmail. A minute ping popped up on Vigilem's HUD, a request for private comm link permission, but he dismissed it without a thought. Instead, his great body shifted and leaned down, sending the prime skittering a few yards back; but he merely curled low to the ground, palms flat, and crouched until his chest nearly touched the dust.

"You have come far, Liege Maximo." Vigilem's deep voice buzzed against his visitor's plating. "And I see you are an old fashioned sort; you have come on foot, with no palanquin to ride upon and no servants to tend to you." His head cocked to the side, and the vents on either side of his face blasted hot air. 

"It is not so far for a great titan such as yourself." Liege Maximo's voice was softer than Vigilem expected, and the titan leaned forward still more, until his nose was nearly touching the prime's chassis. This close, he could see the energon pink of Maximo's optics, highlighted by the bright green of his surrounding helm. The little bot paused, then bowed, a surprisingly humble gesture for a prime. "And a travel party would slow my step. The courting of titans is a sacred act, and I would not belittle you by trying the meet you with an audience when you would have no counsel yourself."

Smooth words. This prime was dangerous for different reasons then the others. "I need no counsel. I have lived much longer than you or any of the primes, and my wisdom goes beyond your bounds." 

Liege Maximo gazed straight into Vigilem's enormous optics, horned audials twitching back and forth in thought for a long klik. His expression wasn't one of shrewd  measurement, like Vigilem would've expected from the prime known for his silver tongue, but a surprisingly open look of curiosity settled over his features, eyes soft in a way that didn't befit a leader of the people of the unforgiving Forgotten Plains. "I apologize for insulting you then. I simply would not want to attempt such a serious negotiation of partnership with a power imbalance."

Vigilem had to prevent himself from venting in disdain, though he did scowl enough to show off his impressive fangs, each longer than the prime was tall. "You speak as though you intend to ask for a courting. Do not patronize me."

"Patronize? Not at all; you are the greatest warrior of the metrotitans, why would I not consider you a true candidate?" Vigilem could feel in Liege Maximo's surprisingly open EM field that the question was genuine, the confusion real. He sighed.

"Eight of the primes have bonded a titan, Liege Maximo of the Forgotten Plains." Against Vigilem's back, his long wing kibble shifted, moving aside so the sun could hit the solar panels that supplied his systems with extra energy, and the sound was enough to make the little prime flinch in surprise. "Eight of them, and none have visited me here in the desolate plains. I am no fool; I am both the youngest of my siblings as well as the harshest. Even Nemesis of the Darklands has been visited by two primes, and the Darklands are not for the faint of heart. I know I am not well received among you and your kin."

Liege Maximo considered these words for a moment, fingers ticking against the green plating of his crossed arms. Then he spoke. "I have met twelve of the metrotitans before you, Vigilem. I have met your siblings, and spoken with them, both already bonded and those with no allegiance. They all were quick to pass judgement on your temper and sour disposition. They described you as a warrior, a bot with a talent for bloodshed and little else."

The venting of the titan's great systems was enough to send the prime onto his backside this time, a most undignified position for a supposed leader. "You're doing a poor job of convincing me of your eligibility as a prime, Liege Maximo."

Holding up a hand without boosting himself from the sitting position, Liege Maximo actually CHUCKLED at the enormous city he may have just angered. "Please, I only pass on their opinions."

"And what, pray tell, is yours?"

That pensive expression again, open and earnest without the usual edge of conniving Vigilem associated with these kind of silver tongued diplomats. "I think every bot chooses their own name, save the primes, funnily enough." Tugging the cloak out of one of his joints, Liege Maximo finally clambered to his feet. "And yours is not...one that strikes me as a throwaway choice."

Interesting. "And what does my name mean to you, youngest of the primes? It is in the ancient tongue of metrotitans. Perhaps it was just what I liked best."

"To watch over." Liege Maximo recited the meaning of the titan's name in the Primal Venacular; a simplification of the kind of context his name held when spoken by other metrotitans, but a concise and accurate enough summation of it. "To guard. To protect. I would not ascribe such a name to a person who revels in causing destruction."

Oh, he did not like just how astute this near sparkling was. Withdrawing, preparing to climb to his feet, Vigilem shook his great head. "A name is just a name, little prime. I think you will need to speak to the other unbonded titans again, since you have done such a poor job at taking stock of my own character."

"Wait!" The considered tone of Maximo's earlier words was gone from his final desperate plea, and Vigilem glanced back down. "Please. I've heard the stories."

"Stories."

Liege Maximo offered the titan a roguish grin - or perhaps bared his fangs, Vigilem couldn't be sure. "I've heard of newsparks and the injured lost over the plains finding the shelter of a silent metrotitan. He never speaks, but his slow heavy steps always lead back to a settlement open to newcomers."

Slag and damn. He'd thought he'd been sparing enough in his rescues for the greater population not to notice, and he ALWAYS chose a different town to leave them in. His withdrawal from his crouch was swift enough to blow the prime several feet from where he was standing in an undignified sprawl, greatly satisfying the titan. "How I choose to spend my time is none of your business. I chose to help because letting those of us who are defenseless suffer is cowardice in its greatest form, Liege Maximo."

"Then we agree!" Maximo peeked out from beneath the corner of his cloak, which had blown over his head when he'd fallen. The slightly crazed look on his face did nothing to diminish the pinpricks of hopeful excitement in his tiny EM field. "I want the same thing as you, Vigilem. I visited all other 12 titans and found them wanting! Even the eldest of your siblings, Metroplex, was too measured in his actions; I need someone who will act on their instinct to do the right thing without having to wait for a millennia of calculations."

A curl of his lips twisted Vigilem's mouth into a snarl. "Are you calling me impulsive?"

"Ha! I would never call a titan impulsive. That would be the petrorabbit calling the turbofox green." Though he pushed the cloak completely off the pointed audials of his helm, Maximo remained in his sitting position, kicking a knee up against his chestplate and balancing his elbow upon it, chin in hand. In this position, he looked like a lone traveler relaxing at his campsite after a rough day of travel. "I ask you because I think we can do a lot off good in this unfortunate aftermath of the Knights departing. People are scared, and even though it's been at least since my forging, they still wonder if we'll ever be at peace again. It makes them easy to take advantage of, and I disagree with those who would do so."

"So you want to what? Become some sort of foolish hero?"

"Hardly. I want to build a sanctuary." The little prime spread his free arm wide, pointing over the horizon. "The world is in turmoil because people are afraid to trust each other, Vigilem. Community is how we build that trust, but many of the other primes and titans have made themselves into fortresses, allowing only those who would follow them as sycophants into their safety. It's not right."

"They are primes." Vigilem didn't believe his own words as he said them. "It is their Primus chosen right to decide who they offer shelter."

Maximo vented in disdain, cocking a single brow ridge up at the titan. "Until about five years ago, I was a scavenger scrabbling at the dirt with a group of corpse pickers hoping to find enough energon to make it through the next day. The idea that primes are sacred is...well, I'm not an atheist, but I find it a little silly."

"If you pursue your goal, your ideals are going to make a lot of people in power very unhappy."

"I've been doing that since I was forged." He waved a dismissive hand, curling his legs into a crossed position, then glanced at Vigilem out of the corner of his optics, expression sly. "Does that mean you'll help?"

Vigilem looked at Liege Maximo for a long time, though it was likely only a few kliks. "I will...consider it. It may be a while before I answer, though. While I am quicker to act then my brethren, this is a serious proposal, even if it's just for a courting. Do not expect a reply before the next vorn."

The smile that graced Maximo's face was startling, the hopeful joy a blinding burst of excitement in his EM field. Vigilem had to look away, across the horizon, lest the young optimism take him in; despite what the titan said, he WAS impulsive, and this little prime was quickly worming his way under his plating towards his spark.


End file.
